Mizon Snail Recovery Gel Cream Review

The Mizon Snail Recovery Gel Cream is the last product in my Mizon snail review series, and probably the product I was most excited about trying. I’d heard so many great things about this moisturizer; I couldn’t wait to slather my face in its soothing, snail-filled glory. Alas, the Snail Recovery Gel Cream and I turned out to be star-crossed, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

I was very happy to see an absence of Cetearyl Alcohol in this formula! I was also happy to see a large lineup of extracts with antioxidant properties. The ingredients in this formula that really stood out to me were:

Snail Secretion Filtrate – This product is comprised of 74% snail mucin. Snail mucin is skin friendly because it contains an array of antioxidants, and proteins as well as elastin and glycolic acid. It’s also antimicrobial, and in addition to being shown to effectively promote wound healing in a couple of in-vitro studies, there was a newer study released in April of this year that showed snail secretion to be effective when it comes to repairing photodamage. It’s especially helpful for acne, overall skin tone, and reducing acne scarring. (Study: Effects of Snail Secretion Filtrate on Photoaged Skin)

Sodium Hyaluronate – Often referred to as hyaluronic acid, this ingredient is able to hold up 1,000 times its weight in water. This humectant also does a great job attracting and maintaining water in the skin, and promotes blood circulation and nutrient absorption.

Olea Europaea (olive) Fruit Oil – Olive oil has been used as skin care ingredient throughout human history, and it’s a classic for a reason. It contains antioxidants such as squalene, Vitamin E, and Vitamin A, as well as skin-healthy essential fatty acids. It also contains a component called oleuropein, which possesses anti-inflammatory and antioxidant characteristics.

Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4 – This is an especially interesting ingredient – you might already be familiar with it under its occasional trade name, Matrixyl. Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4 is a cell-communicating, chain protein that has been scientifically proven to stimulate the production of both collagen and elastin. There is even one study that concluded Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4 was just as effective as retinol for repairing UV damaged skin. For more information, check out this 2005 study: Topical Palmitoyl Pentapeptide Provides Improvement in Photoaged Human Facial Skin

There are a couple of low-grade potential acne triggers in this formula according to COSDNA. One of the named potential triggers is olive oil, which, although it’s true that it can be comedogenic for some people, it’s actually very beneficial for the majority of the population. As a possible acne trigger, it scores a 2 out of 5.

Performance

Smell
There is no added fragrance in this formula, and I found that it had no detectable smell.

Application
As I previously mentioned, this is the 4th step in the Mizon Snail Recovery Skin Care lineup. I applied a large pearl-sized amount over my face just after my Mizon Snail Repair Eye Cream.

Even though this product is labeled as a gel cream, it looks, feels, and acts like just a gel. It’s not creamy at all, but it is very smooth, and has a nice amount of slip to it thanks to the silicone ingredients. It spread over my face easily, and absorbed quickly without leaving behind any stickiness or greasiness.

Results
Remember when I said earlier that this gel cream and I are star-crossed? Well, here’s what happened. I wanted to fall in love with the Mizon Snail Recovery Gel Cream the way others had, to wake up and see the glowing, moisturized, skin people were raving about. Sadly, that was not meant to be – instead, this product triggered several patches of cystic acne within 4 days of using it. At first I’d hoped this was just an unfortunate coincidence, so I gave it a rest until the flare-ups went away. Then I tried the Snail Recovery Gel Cream again, only to be met with more cystic acne. You’d think I’d have stopped trying at this point, but I wanted so desperately to let this product do its thing, that I tried it a third time. Again, cystic acne spots within days.

In case you’re new to this blog, it might help to know that my skin type is dry, sensitive, and very acne prone. I know that larger amounts of Cetearyl Alcohol will trigger breakouts for me, but I’m beginning to suspect the same is true for Cyclopentasiloxane. Cyclopentasiloxane is a silicone ingredient that’s actually pretty harmless – and even beneficial for most people. However, there are some folks that are sensitive to it, and it’s looking to me like I’m one of those people. It’s been fairly high up in the ingredient list in many products that have broken me out this year. There is no Cetearyl Alcohol in the Snail Recovery Gel Cream, so I know that wasn’t the trigger, and I’ve had no problem with using olive oil on my face in the past, so I don’t believe that was an issue here either.

Acne aside, I did not find the Mizon Snail Recovery Gel Cream to be moisturizing enough for me, even when using it in conjunction with the rest of the Mizon Snail Recovery lineup. In fact, my skin felt downright dry when I woke up in the morning. I was willing to stick it out, even with the dryness, just to see what would happen, but once my Mizon party was crashed by a gang of zits, I decided to switch out the Snail Recovery Gel Cream for Argan Oil for the rest of my Mizon testing period.

I thought it was just okay. I had much higher hopes for it, though. I genuinely liked the ampoule and the eye cream, but the recovery gel and the all-in-one cream were such letdowns! it’s bound to happen sometimes, I suppose, but doesn’t make it any less disappointing.

I seem to be having the same issue. I’m about 5 days in. I love how it makes my skin feel, but I am getting really odd breakouts. I thought that maybe by skin is purging, but I don’t know if I want to continue use. Have you found any other snail cream that has worked for you?

Well thank god I went for the Benton snail bee essence instead of this one :O I’m extremely sensitive and acne prone (including cystic acne *sobs miserably*) and the ingredients list just doesn’t look very clean

I wanted to buy this but I think I won’t since I have sensitive and oily skin. I can’t use products with oil or silicone such as primers because I will breakout. Anyway, I love products with snail secretion because they are beneficial for the skin. Thank you so much for sharing this ^_^

I think the silicons are the ones who cause your reaction. I know other people who get those types of reaction from silicons in skin care.
It seems I am one of those lucky people because this looks absolutely fascinating on my skin. I am using it for around 5 months already and I have a back tube of it. It makes my skin so glowing ad healthy and most importantly it doesn’t clog my huge pores on nose. But I don’t have sensitive or oily skin in first place. I never ever had acne. Sadly just clogged pores and hormonal zits from time to time.
I also loved the ampoule. I would like to try the rest of the products too.

Hey Teti! Yeah, the Cyclopentasiloxane is a silicone, and I’m 80% sure it’s the source of my woe. Other silicones don’t cause problems for me, thankfully. In fact, I really like them for sealing in moisture! If you try the All-in-One Cream, I would love to know how it works for you!

The mizon snail cream works pretty ok for my chin acne and I agree the recovery snail gel is a let down. I used it for 2 weeks with new flare up . Till I switched to my usual moisturizer, the acne were tamed